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This was developed in part by a good friend of mine, Dr. Kathleen Wolin. She's a rock star!

Shut the front door!

Take a look at this!

Saving the world....one lentil at a time

Sometimes, I feel like all anyone does is point out all the things that are wrong in the world but no one wants to take the time to figure out what can be done...and even if they did, how would that apply to you, the individual? What can you do?

Here's an elegant summary of the global food market and its issues, as well as a step you can take to turn the tide:

How to feed the world?

I especially like how there is no implied good vs. evil in this clip. The message allows you to be the hero, and if we're going to fix the issue of how to feed the world (and feed them WELL), it will take all of us!

(What an excellent piece of social marketing.)

The only thing that the video neglects is that if you choose lentils over beef, the benefit is twofold: the planet AND your waistline. It's a win-win! (And lentils can be delicious. Scroll down past the enticing cookies and milk photo to get to the lentil soup at Pane e Pomodoro.)

School Lunch and Weight

A new study indicates a link between school food and overweight/obesity, as discussed by Ed Bruske in today's Cafeteria Confidential article. (Ed Bruske also wrote an excellent series on cafeteria meals, Tales from a D.C. School Kitchen.)

I pulled this quote as I felt it said so much about this issue:

But this latest study points to something even more ominous that should occupy the attention of federal lawmakers: a growing bifurcation of the food system wherein poor kids are routinely subjected to cheap processed food that damages their health, while kids from wealthier families get access to the best our local farms have to offer. That is the underlying message of the growing Farm to School movement: that all kids deserve fresh, wholesome food, not just the ones whose parents shop at Whole Foods or the farmers market.

More studies like this one will undoubtedly show that school food quality is a social justice issue that demands immediate attention. And while some politicians might be loathe to pay for improving it -- that is, if they think about it at all -- it is also a health issue with potentially devastating consequences for the national budget.

Caring about the Why

This morning, I was reading the article about the host of issues confronting the nation's sewer and water supplies (Toxic Waters- Saving the U.S. Water and Sewer Systems Would Be Costly) and it got me thinking. There are a lot of services that people want- and rightly believe- the government should provide (clean water, an education, public transportation, etc). But people balk at any increase in paying more than they already are. I worry that we're pushing off paying for needed repairs and maintenance onto the next generation. In the States, you get to have a say, but you also have to pay. You can't have better services without paying for them. When one of the residents, as quoted in the NYT article linked above, said that he didn't care WHY the water wasn't working, it fills me with a sense of defeat.

We should care why. We should care about the why of everything. Better solutions, a better tomorrow, all of this is built on the answers to the who/what/when/why/how of now.

(And yes. It's probably going to cost something.)

Food for Thought

Great graphic on why a salad costs more than a big mac.....here.